Czech Figure Skating

Czech figure skating history is full of big successes. The oldest ones date back even to the period before World War II when pair of Eliška and Oskar Hoppe finished on the third place at the World Championships in Vienna 1927.

In the second half of the last century Czech figure skating has moved among the most successfull figure skating countries.

One of the most significant women in Czech and world figure skating Ája Vrzáňová became famous thanks to being two times World Champion (1949 and 1950). Karol Divin excelled on the ice as well, he became European Champion 1958 and 1959, he won silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley 1960, and two years later he finished second at the World Championships in Prague.

Věra Suchánková and Zdeněk Doležal added another medals into the collection as being European champions in 1957 and 1958 and getting silver from the World Championships in Bratislava 1958.

Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman were the most famous siblings of Czech ice dancing in the history. They won the European championships four times and became triple world champions in the years 1962-1965.

Another European Champion (from 1968) Hana Mašková was even successfull at the Winter Olympics – she finished third in Grenoble 1968.

The overall most successful figure skater of former Czechoslovakia was a Slovak Ondrej Nepela, five-time European champion, three-time World champion (1969 – 1973) and Olympic Champion from Sapporo 1972. His success was followed by his countryman Josef Sabovčík, who became European champion three times (1985-1987).

Not to forget the pairs Radka Kovaříková – Rene Novotný celebrated the gold medal at ISU World FIgure Skating Champipnships in Birmingham 1995.

Other successes of Czech “colors” belong to Petr Barna, European champion from Lausanne 1992 and Tomáš Verner, who won the European gold in Zagreb 2008.

Ostrava is a successful in organization and among competitors as well

Ostrava is known not only by hosting many figure skating events, figure skaters coming from Ostrava are also very successful: in the past people based in Ostrava reach the top international events: for example siblings Jan Šrámek, Bohunka Šrámková in pairs, Stanislav Drastich and Jan Bartak in ice dance and René Novotny as the World Champion in pairs.

In the recent past many other figure skaters reached the national titles and has competed at the ISU Junior World Figure Skating Championships, the ISU European Figure Skating Championships and ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Names like Lukáš Rakowski, Eva Chudá, Nella Simaová, Alexandra Herbríková-Luke Ovčáček (later Alexandra Herbríková-Rudy Halmaert), or Petr Coufal are well known not only to the public of Ostrava.

THE MEDALS OF CZECH FIGURE SKATERS FROM WINTER OLYMPICS, ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS AND ISU EUROPEAN FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS